The Edge of Infinity
by Li-motamiya
Summary: *Chapter THREE* Lukas finally meets with the other Chosen, but they must first fight against a monster carrying a contageous infection...
1. Prologue

Stories start out fine enough. But that's all it is, a story. What really needs to be told is the truth. That's what I'm here for. Who am I? That doesn't matter, right now, but we'll get to that later. Right now I had better start at the beginning, the real beginning. Tanaki is a boy, normal enough for living in Odaiba. Most people call him Lukas though, so lets do the same. Anyway, Lukas used to live his life always trying to find some new adventure. Of course he never though what would happen next was ever possible. So, this is where the journey begins.  
  
ODAIBA, JAPAN  
  
Lukas finally awoke to his alarm buzzing in his ear and he groggily he checked the clock. He was late. Again. He started to panic as he crawled out of bed. He grabbed his pants from off the floor and jumped into them as fast as he could. Lukas rummaged through his closet looking for a clean shirt, muttering about how cold it was. He finally found one and started to pull it over his head as he left his room. He was careful to have his shirt on correctly before getting all the way downstairs. His father decided to run a business out of their living room after Lukas' mother left them. Lukas never liked having strangers in his house all day, but he never quite knew what his dad did all the time. Luckily, there was no-one there, even his dad was nowhere to be seen. He made his way through the kitchen, thinking there was no time to eat. He grabbed his bag from in the hallway. Luckily he packed it the other night. He quietly checked his bag to see if his goggles were still in there. His father never let him wear goggles in the house. He said it was an embarrassment if a customer came in and saw them. He grabbed his father's cellphone from the counter and stuffed it in his bag. "Dad, I'm taking your cellphone. I'll call you after soccer practice." And with that last yell, he burst out the door on a full run to get to school on time.  
  
"Wait, Tanaki! I have a costumer coming this afternoon!" He called after his son from the doorway. Lukas kept running without looking back. His dad noticed this and sunk reluctantly back into the house. 


	2. To the Edge and Beyond

**CHAPTER ONE**

"You lose. Why don't you go and get some real cards. This is pathetic." I said monotone as I slapped down my MetalGarurumon D-Tector card onto the playing mat. I sat there, looking at the cards I had played. Each one lined up neatly with all the others underneath them. It still wasn't good enough. I should have made that move ten minutes ago. What's wrong with me? A boy sat cross-legged on the floor on the other side of the mat. He let out a small sigh and began to collect his cards.

"You know...This game is easier to play on a D-Tector. Why don't I bring mine over one day and we can play." The boy looked up at me. A small glimmer of hope shone through his eyes. Did he think I wouldn't see? He knows I don't have a D-Tector. Hmf. Silly electronic toys. If only he knew. If only he knew what was really hidden inside my desk drawer. Then he'd see.

I got up silently, leaving my cards in their place on the mat. I turned around and walked out of the room. The boy stood there holding his cards with that stupid look on his face. He always got that look whenever he was confused. He looked as if he was about to cry and laugh at the same time. Freak.

I went into my room and over to my desk. Mt computer was switched on. I never turned it off. Who cares if it cost a small fortune in power bills, this was important. I pulled off the chain around my neck and took off the key suspended on it. I unlocked the desk drawer beside me and pulled it open. From within, I pulled out a small device hidden under papers and notebooks. It was perfectly rectangular and fit in my palm. It was a dark blue color, with gray sides and a gray dial in the middle. The dial had four buttons on it, one at each Cartesian point. It had a small LCD screen near the top, and a couple little dark spots at the top. I had no idea what those were for, but I didn't care. I put the device down on the desk, in front of the computer monitor. I began to type. What? I can't tell you that. You'd know too much.

Me? You don't need to know that quite yet. But, the others are who you need o be concerned about. They need all the luck they can get.

~*~*~

"Class! Pay attention!" A tall, slender woman stood at the front of the classroom, watching her students mindlessly gossip to one another. Once in a while, one student would get out of their seat to sneak to the other side of the room. She would quickly catch them and send them back. She was quite young to be a teacher, especially for junior high school. She had long brown hair that flowed in waves past her shoulders. She dressed formally, but her soft eyes didn't match her proper dress. She had a sharp, demanding voice, but rarely used it for such a purpose. Everyone in her classes knew there was something unique about her, but no one could tell what. Unlike most junior high schools, classes here had only one teacher for the entire year, much like elementary school. Today, she demanded her class' attention more desperately than before. She knew that the kids would not calm down too easily, since it was first thing in the morning. But, what got everyone's attention was the creak of the classroom door. A boy walked into the room, about the same age as the rest of them. But once again, there was something different. He walked, talked and looked the same, but everyone felt something. He went and sat down in an empty desk without saying a word. The teacher introduced him as Josh. She said that he had just transferred from the United States. He dressed quite normally, but that was not what bothered the teacher, she too felt something.

At lunch hour, Josh sat alone in the courtyard slowly eating his sandwich. He kept staring at one point on the ground, barely even looking at it. He was caught in his thoughts, and didn't even notice the two girls come up and sit on either side of him. They were the same age as Josh, but acted a bit less mature. One girl had short reddish hair and the other with long black hair; both tied back in ponytails. One girl leaned over Josh to whisper something to the other. Josh noticed them now, but didn't care what they were doing. Both girls smirked a little and sat up straight. At the same time both girls chimed "Hi."

Josh sat there, in between these two girls, having no idea who they were. He let himself say hello back to them, and continued to eat. "Mind if we hang out here with you?" One girl asked. Josh looked over to her without turning his head. He thought he might as well let them stay, his parents would transfer him again if he didn't make any friends this time.

"Sure. Do whatever you want." Josh told them quietly. He sat up and moved his concentration out of his imagination. The girls introduced themselves.

"I'm Sarah. This is my friend Tara. So, you're new here right?"

"Yes."

"How come you came all the way from the USA?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because...Because my parents wanted me to make friends. I wasn't getting along well with people down there."

"Why'd you come here? There are other schools down there you know."

"I know. We tried all of the schools in the city. None worked out. My parents decided that we would try moving here instead of a new American city. At least that's what they said."

"Oh."

The conversation went on with Sarah and Tara popping out questions. They talked until lunch hour was over, getting along better than Josh's last couple schools. The three separated at the bell and went to their classes. Throughout the next couple weeks, Josh was getting to know the girls quite well, but never bothered with anyone else. His teacher, Ms. Logan, kept a constant eye on Josh, but not for his friend making skills. She too knew something was different about him...and the girls too. Everyone just thought they imagined it. She could feel it, deep in her bones.

1010101101101000101001. Numbers, so many ones and zeros. But, that's all they are. All of them. Nothing more than ones and zeros. How can they...Live?

Hundreds of thousands of ones and zeros flashed repeatedly on my computer screen. To the average eye, that's all they were. But me, I saw a world. A new, incredible world. A world, that I made.

It's a creation...An emulation.

That's all.

It's not possible for anything to do a thing without me telling it to.

I create little creatures to live in my world. I use Digital DNA that I created, here, in my bedroom. I make them happy. I make them sad. They grow, digitally evolve...Digivolve.

They're special. Unique. Fake. All I can do is create fake things. I can't make anything real, alive. I can't make anything here, in my world, with me. They're all there, in my computer. Isolated. Alone. Like me.

I make them,  
I evolve them.  
I fight them,  
I play them.  
I break them,  
I fix them.  
...  
...  
...  
I kill them.

Josh sat in the computer room. At least twenty computers sat on desks, turned off and unused. Josh sat in front of the computer; the warm glow of the screen lit his face, and was the only light on in the room. It was after school. Everyone had gone home. Josh wanted to stay to catch up on some work. He didn't have a computer at home yet. He had to suffer with the school's old beat up leftovers that they called computers.

All of a sudden, Josh was snapped out of his daze by a flashing blue light on the screen. In the corner of the screen, he noticed, an instant messenger program had turned on. Someone knew he was there. They were trying to talk to him. He reluctantly opened the program. A message popped up. It was from a user name "dgtlwrld". Josh had no idea who it was, but read the message anyway.

"It is time, Joshua. Do you accept?" Josh read the message, completely confused. He stared at the user name. Nope, no one he knew. He started to type back to the mystery person.

"Who is this?"

_"Do you accept?"_

"Accept what?"

_"Your destiny."_

"What?"

_"Go to the subway station and take the 4:30 train heading east on platform 32."_

"Why? I don't need to go that way."

_"It will take you to another station. From there, go to platform 9. Get on the train. It departs at 5:00 sharp. Make sure you get on."_

At that moment, before Josh could reply, the user signed off. Josh sat there, looking at the message conversation. Then he noticed, he hadn't accepted or anything and this person still told him what to do. Josh was completely confused. He had been working on his homework for a while now, and his brain was shut down. He waited for it to register. When it finally hit him, he checked his watch. The time was already four o'clock. If he wanted to do what this person said, he'd have to run full speed to the station.

Now there was only one question. To go, or, not to go?

Josh ran down the street. He constantly pulled his backpack back onto his shoulders. He gasped for air as he ran down the hill towards the subway station. He saw the station at the bottom of the hill. A train was just entering a tunnel to go down to the station. That had to be his train. It was almost four thirty. All of a sudden, josh's foot caught on a rock. He went flying into the air and down the hill. He landed on his stomach, but kept going. He rolled down the hill a ways before slamming into a telephone pole headfirst. He slowly stood up, using the pole as a brace. Josh held hid head in pain was he stood crumpled over the side of the wooden post. He was nearly at the station. Through his grumbling of pain Josh heard a faint voice coming from the station. "All passengers for the four thirty train please board now on platform 32. You may ask any station employees for directions how to get there."

Oh no, Josh thought, He was going to miss the train. Josh began to pick up speed, lugging extra weight from the bump on his head. He ran as fast as he could into the station. An elderly man was standing at the automated ticket booth. He slowly pushed in his coins and selected his fare. The little red ticket popped out of the machine. The man slowly went to reach for it. Josh ran in between the man and his ticket. Josh grabbed the ticket with one hand and threw his change at the man with the other. "Sorry! Here's the money, buy another one!" Josh yelled over his shoulder to the man. Josh jumped the gate and around a corner. The man just stood there, his arm still in front of him, as it was when he reached for the ticket. He kept looking where Josh had just been, with surprise and utter fear in his eyes.

~*~*~

They are made, and they are unmade. I control it. Me. It's all done by my hand. My mind. They do not think. They do not feel...They do not live...Or do they. Hmm....

~*~*~

The train was filling up fast. Young and old crowded into the small compartments. Josh ran through the crowd, trying to push and shove his way to the train. The bell sounded to tell everyone the train was leaving.

~*~*~

They don't follow me anymore. Why? I tell them to stop, but they don't. They have started to Digivolve faster than I can delete them. I need someone in that world, on my side. Someone who can delete them for me. I still have some digital DNA left...

~*~*~

Josh pushed through the doors of the train as it started to pull out of the station. He shuffled through the crowd and luckily found a spot to sit down. The train wouldn't reach the correct station for another half-hour at least. Josh began to use his time to think about that email message he got. Someone knew who he was and where he was. Josh began to think this was all one big scam. But, then again, even if it was, he couldn't exactly go to front of the train and ask them to stop. He'd have to wait until five o'clock when the other train left.

~~~~

Josh got off the train into the fresh afternoon air. The next train must be above ground, he thought. Josh looked at the ticket he held in his hand. The old man had actually planned to go on the same route as Josh. What luck, maybe this was destiny. Josh wandered around silently, looking for platform 9. When he found it, the train was already being boarded. Josh quickened his pace. He got on the train in just enough time. As he did so, the doors closed behind him. Oddly, the train seemed almost deserted. Other than two girls, he was the only one in the compartment. Wait, those two girls. It's Sarah and Tara. Josh went over to them. The girls hadn't heard him walk up to them. They turned with a start when the saw him. "Hello Josh. What are you doing on this train?" Tara blinked at Josh, obviously confused.

"I got an email. It told me o get on this train. What about you? I thought you two went home hours ago." Josh sat down across from the girls. They told him that they too got an email, on one her computer, the other on their cell-phone. Josh looked around. "Is there anyone else on this train?"

"Yes. Some girl is in another compartment. She was really grumpy and yelled at us to go away. So we came to sit down here." Sarah then began to tell Josh about the other girl. She had shoulder length brown hair and a slightly rounded face. She wore an orange wristband on her left arm. Sarah told Josh that she wasn't friend type at all. This made Josh wonder. The four of them all got onto the same train after getting a strange message. What was going on here? And even more important, what awaited them at the other end of that train track?

~*~*~

_And that's how it began. Josh, Sarah, and Tara, are being pitted against an enemy who knows no mercy and is no fan of slow death. Can they make it out alive? Or have I made a mistake sending them? I wish I hadn't sent that email to Josh in the first place. But, I never sent a message to that other girl. I wonder why she is there._

~*~*~

Hmm. Almost done. It just needs one more adjustment. A little more power. Perhaps a conversion subprogram would help it recruit some followers. Yes. Its main program is conversion and deletion. It will do perfectly...Maybe a bit more black on the left forearm. And a horn here. No, that doesn't work.

I typed in the codes and watched as the ones and zeros came together on my screen. The numbers began to form a picture. This was my latest creation, my best. My strongest. The most evil simulated being ever created.  
...  
These incompetent, insubordinate little creatures are going to learn a lesson their emulated "brains" won't easily forget.  
...  
...  
Those of them who survive the night.  
...  
...  
My Digital World will once again be mine. Even if I have to destroy both worlds to do it. 


	3. The Encounter With Evil

Chapter 2  
  
Torn away. No warning. One minute he's here, the next...  
  
Lukas awoke flat on his back. His vision blurred, he felt the cold stone against his body. Half-unconscious sill, he slowly rose to a sitting position. He braced himself with his arms behind him. He slowly re-opened his eyes to see the blur disappear. But what replaced it was quite worse. He sat alone on the rocky horizon. Large snowy mountains boxed him in on three sides. The other, was a wide plain of rolling hills. It seemed to spread for miles in just that one direction. A large grassy plain. No sign of human life all round. When Lukas went to sleep, it was at his desk in science class. Not on top of a large, rocky outcrop. He felt a small bulge in his pocket, noticing it, but otherwise ignoring it. He still needed to wake up fully before he could take in any of what he was seeing and feeling. The bulge moved slightly and he heard a couple clinks moving away from him down the hill. When he looked over, a small object rolled down the hillside. It skittered and bounced on the rocky slope, eventually getting caught in a larger rock. Lukas, now awake, and quite curious, slowly made his way down to the object. Half the time he walked, the rest he sat down and let gravity slide him down. This was much faster than trying to keep his balance. When he got down to where the object had stopped, he nearly fell on top of it. He rolled onto his side and used the boulder to stand him up. He bent down and picked up the strange object, which he knew now was metal. It was oddly shaped like an upside down triangle with two littler triangles coming out each side. It was very perplexing. It had a round ring of gold in the center of the triangle, which encompassed a small square screen. Below the circle was a couple buttons, oddly arranged like puzzle pieces, neatly fitting into one another. He looked over the device a couple times and then quickly stuffed it back into his pocket. Now, to figure out where he was.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The train sped through a mountainside tunnel at breakneck speed. Josh, like Sarah and Tara, was pinned to his seat. Flashes of oddly colored light came through the windows. Josh just assumed they were lights on the tunnel walls. Seeing as how it was the only thing his body could let him do, thoughts raced through his mind. Where was he going? What awaited him on the other side of this tunnel? He could only wait and see. As soon as this last thought ran through his head, the train shot from the tunnel into broad daylight. But something was odd. The light, it was too...clean. The light was fresh and bright. No clouds or pollution. Just bright blue sky. Not even the sun. Not anywhere in the sky, yet the light kept shining. The grass on either side of the tracks was bright green, almost glowing. Josh looked through the window at the back of the car. The mountainside they had just passed through was nowhere to be seen, just more rolling hills of bright green grass. This didn't make any sense. Tara and Sara both got out of their seats and stared through the windows.  
  
~*~*~  
  
This part of the world was deactivated long ago. Since then, it has begun to erode and degrade. It was a barren wasteland now. The only structure left standing was a large stone temple. The only entrance was up at the very top, with a tall, steep staircase leading up to it. The steps, like the walls, were cracked and broken. It was a wonder that it still stood; resisting the lack of energy that had begun to delete the surrounding landscape.  
  
Lukas had long ago decided to follow the long path set before him by the rolling hills of bright green grass. As he made his way towards the strange tower he soon saw on the horizon, the land drastically changed. The grass withered and died, as the stony ground grew flat and cracked. Large, sharp fractures jutted upwards towards the now dark and stormy sky. Lukas, weary from his journey, walked slowly through the field of stone. Not only to catch his breath, but to watch out for any dangers. Any number of things could be hiding just around the next fracture. He still did not know where he was or why he was there, but he did know that if he could get tired, he could just as easily get hurt or even killed. He felt quite alone now. He hadn't seen a single sign of life since he left school, somehow. But this first sign was a big one. It loomed over him, reaching to the sky and beyond. It would be a long climb to the top, not to mention hard, with the size of the steps. Hopefully, this would bring Lukas the answers about where he is. And possibly, the way home.  
  
Lukas walked up to the steps. They were a lot larger than he first thought. He breathed out a large sigh. Hesitantly, he slowly began to pull himself up the first step.  
  
~*~*~  
  
The last subroutine was programmed into him hours ago. I gave him a name. I gave him a personality. No free will but to fight. Fight and destroy. I already let him loose on the Digital world. I sat back in my chair, marveling at my creation. In my mind, it was truly beautiful. Not a single Digimon was powerful enough to stop him. But, I never thought about humans. Not until an alarm went off on my computer. I leaned forward attentively as a new window popped up on my screen. Ones and Zeros scrolled by my eyes in a new pattern. I watched as the numbers faded and an image appeared. It was of an old dilapidated looking temple surrounded by a barren wasteland. My temple. On the steps, about halfway up, was a boy. A human boy. He was sitting on the edge of the step catching his breath. How did a human get into the Digital world? A human would need a Digivice to get there. I don't even create them. The world itself creates them. Mine was sent to me in an email. Don't ask how. With it, I was able to create the starting mold of the Digital world and the Digimon. It would seem a Digivice is the Digital world's way of using up excess energy, because whenever a Digivice is made, there is a spike of energy for quite some time before. I have made a point of keeping track off all new Digivices...my own way. I imprison them in stone before they can find a suitable Tamer. I put them all in that Temple. No! That's how he's there, he stole a Digivice from me! I need to get it back. By myself.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Lukas had made it to the top of the steps. Weary and heaving for breath, he stood at the top with his hands on his knees. He slowly looked up, into the room open in front of him. It was dark, but the light pouring in form the doorway where he stood slimly illuminated it. The light shone on a waist high pedestal in the center of the room. As Lukas approached it, it seemed to grow quite large around, very wide. On the surface were five lines surrounded by an engraved circle, forming a pentagram. At each point of the star, except for one, were strange unique drawings. They looked quite alien to Lukas. For a second, he thought about how he got here: 'maybe aliens abducted me from school. And this is their home planet where their keeping me for study.' As Lukas shrugged of this ridiculous thought, he continued observing the pedestal. At the far-left point on the star, was a sort of indent. About the same size as the drawings, but something was different, more familiar. Than the thought hit him. He quickly pulled out the metal device he found earlier. He flipped it over and over, rotating it to see if it fit. Then he found that the indent looked to fit the back of the device. Without thinking about it, Lukas slowly went to place it in the pedestal. He was actually hoping that it would give him some answers. Suddenly, just before the metal touched the cold stone, Lukas and the device were blown back, away from the pedestal. He was flung backwards. He slammed hard against the wall and slid down to the floor. His body went limp and slumped into a crumpled mess on the floor. Lukas lay there for a second, barely conscious. What hit him? What hit him? The same question repeated over and over in his head. It drove him to pull himself up and find out. He braced himself with his arms and lifted his head. When his eyes opened and the blur cleared, he saw a figure standing in-between him and the pedestal. From where Lukas lay he, or it, looked very tall and menacing.  
  
"You, don't touch that. Your hands are unclean, thief." The voice seemed to come not only from the figure, but also from the room itself. Lukas looked around slightly trying to puzzle this out.  
  
"Wha.." The only sound Lukas could force his throat to make. To Lukas, it seemed quite appropriate, if not vague after he heard himself say it.  
  
"You think you can steal from this world and return to the scene unscathed? Steal from me? Impudence. You shall learn your lesson." The figure stepped out from the shadows and into the light, still pouring in from the doorway. It was a boy, not even seventeen years old from the looks of it. He had long, scruffy blond hair and dark, penetrating eyes. His dark shirt came up to his chin, covering his neck, and the sleeves down to his knuckles. He raised his left arm up to point at Lukas, he opened his palm to him and as he did so, Lukas was pinned back against the wall. The boy raised his hand higher in the air, raising Lukas up the wall. He dropped Lukas down to the floor again. The boy's arm fell slightly backwards when he brought it back down, and as it did so, Lukas noticed that his fingertips actually passed through the solid stone pedestal. When his hand came back out, it was slightly blurred and off-colored, like when you get a bad TV connection. The boy didn't seem to notice, but Lukas sure did. The boy was just an illusion, a sort of hologram or projection. But, how was a hologram able to throw a real human boy across a room. Lukas then got a stupid idea, or at least it seemed stupid. He discretely looked around for the metal device and noticed it was very close to his right arm. The boy began to pace in slow circles around the pedestal.  
  
"Now, how shall I kill you? Slow and painful? Or how about quick and painful? Sorry. No painless ways out this time sonny-boy." Lukas waited until the boy was not looking and quietly grabbed the device. He didn't know why, but he just knew he had to do it. He got up to his feet as quickly as he could, making sure not to make too much noise. He began to walk towards the pedestal when the boy noticed.  
  
He reached out his arm to blow him back, but Lukas was ready this time. He lowered his center of gravity and braced his knees. The force bent him backwards, but he did not move. Lukas ran forward with all his energy. "No! You can't!" The boy shouted, trying to stop Lukas, but he ignored him. He blocked the pedestal, but it was useless. Lukas ran right into the hologram and reached his arm through it. He slammed the device down into the hole in the pedestal. "No!" The boy screamed and the hologram exploded into a million points of light that quickly dissolved.  
  
The ground beneath Lukas' feet began to shake. It pushed Lukas up against the pedestal, and he held on to stay on his feet. He looked down and saw that the drawings on the pedestal were beginning to glow brighter and brighter. The glowing signs began to give off a force similar to what the boy had used. It blew Lukas back onto the floor where from there he saw the glowing get even brighter. The glowing then subsided and only the outlines on the stone were glowing. The rumbling subsided as well and as suddenly as the rumbling stopped, tall beams of light shot from the signs and through the roof. The beams of light were so bright Lukas couldn't look. Along with the light came a high pitched squealing noise. It hurt Lukas' ears to just sit there. It didn't last long though, both the noise and the light subsided within a few seconds.  
  
When Lukas opened his eyes, everything was the way it was before. The roof still intact and the only light was coming from the open doorway. But he was still there, in this strange world. It didn't get him anywhere. Now his eyes and ears hurt but he didn't get anything that could help him. Lukas pulled himself to his feet. "Jeez, I really should work on not getting pushed around so much" he thought.  
  
He walked back towards the pedestal, but something was wrong. It was blank. Nothing was on the face of the pedestal, but the device he put into it sat on top of it in the center. Not a single mark or dent was in the stone. It had all disappeared in the light. Lukas picked up the device and looked at it sitting in the palm of his hand. The screen in the center of the device lit up. A voice began to speak to Lukas through the device.  
  
"Lukas Nonaki, you have arrived in the Digital world. Welcome. You have just released the Digivices, one of which you are now holding. This is your Digivice. It will guide you through this world and help you retrieve your partner." The vice was soft and feminine.  
  
Lukas was completely beside himself when he heard this. He knew immediately it would take some time to learn what she meant. He barely even knew what was going on, or what he was in store for. 


	4. Digital Infection

Chapter 3  
  
This was almost too much. Sarah and Tara both were staring out the windows at the land that lay around them. Neither one had any idea what was going on, and the both knew that. Just by looking at each other they were almost able to tell what the other was thinking. They are that good of friends. They looked over to Josh, who stood stiff at the back of the train, looking out the rear window.  
  
"Where did the tunnel go?" Josh said in a daze. He didn't even move from his erect pose. He was literally scared stiff. When he got that email message earlier, he never knew that he would end up so obviously far away from home. He wanted to go back.  
  
"I don't know. But what I want to know is, where are we?" Sarah replied as she returned to looking out the window at the glowing green grass. At that time, the train pulled to a sudden stop. All three were thrown to the ground and Josh rolled down the car up just past Sarah and Tara, who were thrown into the back of the seats in front of them.  
  
"Um, what happened?" Tara forced her lungs to breathe out the words as he hoisted herself out of the seat and rightened herself. As soon as she finished a voice came over the intercom, or at least it seemed that way.  
  
"Final stop! Everyone off!" The voice was deep and very monotone.  
  
"...What was that?" Sarah looked around for the speakers.  
  
"We can't get off here...can we?" Tara asked aloud, not expecting an answer.  
  
"...Who said that?" Josh said in a ditsy tone.  
  
All three replied practically at the same time. Each one of them was wondering what to do. Josh thought it was best to just listen to the voice and get off. But, there was no platform, just a big field of grass. Glowing grass.  
  
Josh walked over and opened the door. It wasn't that far to the ground. He could jump. He reached over and grabbed his backpack from the seat next to him. He then prepared to jump out the door.  
  
"Wait!" Tara yelled after Josh. "What are you doing, are you nuts? We can't get off here. We don't even know where here is. We need to go home anyway it's almost four o'clock, I'm late." She looked next to her for Sarah's usual agreement and was surprised to find an absence of Sarah. She looked all around her in her confusion only to look forward again and see both Josh and Sarah standing side by side, holding their backpack straps on their shoulders, at least ten feet away from the train. Both were staring at her. Tara dropped her shoulders and let out a frustrated and confused sigh. Reluctantly she grabbed her bag, letting out another sigh.  
  
~*~*~  
  
It is done. I have set them on their way. The three chosen children must now find their own way to survive, together or alone. But the other girl. I wonder still how she knew to get onto the train. She was not chosen by myself, or the Sovereigns. I suppose we must wait and see how her destiny unfolds. And how it changes that of the Chosen.  
  
The first hurdle has been overcome. Lukas Nonaki has released the Digivices, despite the attempts of one particular Chosen. He was once as pure as the others are. The thought of being the first Chosen was too much for him. His greed swelled into evil. He wishes to keep his hold over the Digital world, but even now it slips. The Digidestined are the ones who can stop him and bring him back to who he once was. But Belialmon has taken the Digi-Eggs of the Chosen Digimon. Only when the Chosen have rescued their partner's Digi-Eggs from Belialmon, can they be called true Digidestined. Then their fate will reveal itself, and the true battle will begin.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Sarah, Tara, and Josh walked through the grassy field away from the train tracks. Earlier, the train told them to head in this direction. That's right, the train. The three of them were practically bowled off their feet to see that the train as alive and actually had a face. It told them that the closest civilization was just over the horizon to the East. Too bad the horizon was so far away. Not a single one of them knew what time it was where they were, but back home it was getting late. Last time Tara checked her watch, at least an hour ago, it said it was after five thirty. Sarah and Tara thought about how their parent must be worrying about them. Josh just thought about how much hair his dad would rip out knowing that his son went missing on his first full day in a new country. His dad still lived in New York. Josh had moved here with his mother. No siblings. He actually missed his dad, who was by far his favorite adult.  
  
Sarah stopped suddenly and bent down. When Josh got closer he noticed she was tying her shoe. He decided to wait for her. Tara on the other hand kept walking, confident Sarah would catch up. Very confident. A slight rumble distracted Tara and she stopped suddenly to make sure she actually felt it. She turned back to face the others "Did any of you just feel that?"  
  
"Feel what?" Josh called back to her. Just then another stronger rumble passed under their feet. The vibrations made Sarah loose her balance and roll onto her back. She lay there for a second like an upside-down turtle before noticing that Josh was brought to his knees beside her. When the rumbling stopped she got up onto her knees. Josh was looking intently at the ground in front of him. "It's coming."  
  
"What did you say?" Sarah asked confused. She kept looking to Josh as he kept staring at the ground.  
  
"It's coming. From under us, it's coming... ... ...Run you fools!" Josh got up to his feet and began funning as fast as he could. He had no idea why he said that, or why he was running. He only knew that it felt very wrong to stay, right down to the sick feeling in his stomach that came when he was kneeling on the ground. Sarah began to follow. As he passed by Tara he simply yelled to run. She slowly began to follow. She picked up speed when she saw that Sarah was running close behind. "Keep running! Don't look back!" Josh yelled back to Sarah and Tara. They looked.  
  
The ground where Sarah and Josh were once standing began to ripple and bulge upward. Suddenly it cracked open. Large and small chunks of earth were flung into the air as the blades of grass flew upwards and then slowly fell back to the ground. A thick cloud of dirt formed around the area. Through the cloud, Sarah and Tara both saw a figure forming. It was definitely not shaped like a human. It was round and long, so long in fact that it was not fully out of the ground. It reminded them of a giant earthworm. Throughout all this neither one of them slowed their pace, only sped up a little.  
  
The dirt cloud cleared and revealed that it was quite like and earthworm, only thousands of times bigger. And hundreds of times uglier. It seemed that it didn't have any face, no ears, eyes, nose, mouth. Nothing but a big line across the end, which could be a mouth, if you look at it the right way. The three of them slowly stopped running and turned to look back. At first it seemed like the worm hadn't noticed them. But a few seconds later it quickly spun around to face them. The three recoiled in surprise and fear, but nothing happened. It just sat there facing them. Just when they thought they could relax a bit, it slowly heaved itself to face straight upwards. The split in it's tip began to move and open. The worm opened it's 'mouth' wider and wider until it was fully open. As quickly as a flash of lightning a large mass moved up through the worm and popped out of the mouth. Still partially inside the worm, the mass took form. It began to look almost human. It soon formed a fully human form. From the waist down was still inside the worm. The body was the same color as the worm and was quite muscular. The head was bald with no face, but it did have ears. The fingers were long and slender but still looked quite strong. The worm's mouth began to close around the waist of the body. When it touched, the waist and the mouth began to meld together until the worm was a part of the body. Even without eyes, the head was positioned to look directly at the three children. The once open and loose hands quickly clenched into fists and rose into a fighting stance in front of the body's chest and face.  
  
"Uh...what's...that?" Josh was barely able to squeeze out the simple words as his amazement and fear froze him to one spot on the ground. He could not move his feet no matter how much he tried. The worm creature opened it's left hand and faced it palm forward at Josh. Josh felt a chill run up and down his spine. It was almost like he knew what to expect. A small point of light formed in front of the creature's hand. It slowly grew large enough to be easily seen. It was a ball of bright yellow light about the size of a baseball. A small hum was emitted from the sphere. Josh's eyes widened.  
  
Sarah and Tara, both frozen in place, looked at the worm with it's hand stretched out. Yet, they saw no yellow sphere and heard no hum. They just looked at the thing with it's ridiculous pose. Still, both of them were too scared to crack a smile. Suddenly Sarah perked up. She strained herself to look over her shoulder at the mountains in the horizon beside her. Tara slowly followed her gaze. Both of them could hear a small hum. Not from the creature, but from the mountains. Four points of bright white light shone from one of the mountains. The points grew bigger. They were rapidly getting closer. 'Now what?' Sarah thought to herself.  
  
The four lights flew through the air, streaking behind them. They flew straight towards the kids. One steak flew higher and zoomed over their heads. Sarah and Tara turned to watch it go, but turned back rapidly to see what the others would do. As they turned their heads, they only saw the lights on a collision course with them. Josh, still focused on the creature, did not notice the other three lights zooming towards them. Tara then screamed out. "Josh!"  
  
Sarah and Tara blocked their faces with their hands. At the last second, Josh put his hand between him and the light. A split second before the lights hit the kids, the creature suddenly let the light go and shot it at Josh. The streak of white light hit Josh's hand and turned solid. He gripped the object just as the creature's shot hit the ground at his feet. The shock threw Josh up into the air. Energy crackled around his legs as he fell back down to the ground. He hit with a thud, knocking the object out of his hand. Sarah and Tara, both with similar objects in hand, ran to Josh's side. the creature lowered it's arms to it's side.  
  
Josh opened his eyes to see a small metallic object lying next to him. It was small and black. It had three white buttons on it and a small screen. An antenna like thing stuck up on one side. He looked up to see Sarah and Tara on either side of him. They were both looking at the creature. Josh sat up and saw it. It was just sitting there, not moving.  
  
Just then, a rock flew up and hit the thing in the head. It seemed undamaged, but it looked over to see where the rock came from. The three followed it's gaze to see another boy standing a few yards away. to their surprise, he seemed very confident. He raised his arm to throw another rock. that's when they saw it. on his belt, he too had a strange device, although his was different. The boy was dead on again, hitting the thing square in the face. Although it seemed quite angry, it slowly sank back into the ground. When he was sure it was gone, the boy walked up to the three.  
  
"Are you okay? that thing's blast has some unusual effects." The boy spoke softly to Josh. Josh just looked blankly at hi for a second.  
  
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I think it missed. Just one question..." Josh sat up and started to stand. What no body knew, was that the creature was trying to miss. It did not want to kill josh, but it did accomplish it's mission. It infected him.  
  
"Yeah, what?"  
  
"Who are you?" All three of them asked simultaneously. This shocked the boy a bit, but he was still overly calm.  
  
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I'm Lukas. I guess I should say 'Welcome to the Digital World'. I got here a while ago, I don't know how long exactly, I've been walking for a while." He helped Josh to his feet. josh looked to Sarah and Tara. Both of them had devices on their hands. each one was different. Sarah's was taller than Josh's and was black and red with a bigger screen, and the three buttons formed a triangle below it. Tara's was white with a blue rig around the screen. The buttons were similar to Lukas' yellow device. Out of all of them Josh's was the smallest.  
  
"Do you know what these are?" Sarah asked politely as the three of them held them up to see. Lukas then saw something. The Digivices these kids had, were the same as the drawings on the pedestal.  
  
"Those...are...the same. I saw these before, they were drawings on a pedestal. after I put mine on the pedestal, the drawings lit up and flew away. how did you get them?"  
  
"They uh, flew into our hands." Tara spoke quietly, making sure not to sound stupid. She looked at Lukas and saw that he absolutely believed her.  
  
"These things are called Digivices. This shows that we are here to save this world. And, to tell you the truth, a voice came out of mine and told me all this, so maybe it'll happen to you too." Josh said confused. He then went on to tell the three exactly what the voice had told them. Throughout the speech, the girls often became confused and scrunched up their faces trying to understand. Josh shrugged of the confusing bits and stood silent, trying to make sense of it all. 


End file.
